The grooming of animals and in particular household pets such as dogs, either for show purposes or for purposes of general sanitation, includes washing the animal. The subsequent drying and grooming of the coat of the animal thereafter, particularly for show purposes, involves combing or brushing the animal's coat and directing a flow of heated air to speed up the drying operation.
This application discloses two forms of animal drying apparatus. One includes a grooming brush so the animal is simultaneously dried and groomed, and the other includes a drying apparatus for drying principally only the underside of the animal as it is sitting or standing on a support grate. The claims of the present application cover only the latter drying apparatus.
One problem in grooming animals is in drying the bottom portion of an animal after the animal has been washed. The underparts of an animal are the slowest to dry under such circumstances, since excess water naturally gravitates to the lower regions. It is desirable to provide a more effective drying means for the bottom portion of a washed animal than a conventional hand-held drying head. The present invention provides a unique approach to initial accelerated drying of the bottom portion of the animal before a final grooming and drying operation is performed in the manner described. As will appear, the accelerated initial drying of the bottom portion of the animal can take place in a cage in which the washed animal is initially placed. The drying operation takes place while the animal in the cage is unattended. Additionally, in the event that the animal is incontinent during this period, it is desirable that means be provided for capturing the draining water and excreta in such a way that it may be removed from the cage and disposed of with minimal difficulty. To the applicant's knowledge, prior to the development of a related form of the instant invention, a completely satisfactory solution to this problem had not been achieved.